Dan Walker has hit back at the criticism he has faced from fans of Strictly Come Dancing after he made it through to the quarter final stage of this year's show.

Along with his professional partner Nadiya Bychkova, the BBC Breakfast presenter has been finishing towards the bottom of the judge's leaderboard in recent weeks.

However, they have been saved from competing in the 'dance-off' with votes from the viewers at home helping them progress.

This has seen Walker come under heavy criticism from some fans of the programme for how Nadiya and himself continue to make it through.

Walker posted a tweet responding to some of the criticism saying: “Thank you to everyone who is sending lovely messages & enjoying us having fun on #Strictly.

“And to the few who say… ‘Just leave’, ‘Aren’t you ashamed?’, ‘You’re a disgrace’, ‘It’s a fix’ (which I don’t get) or ‘Who is voting for them?’, IT’S A TV SHOW! See you in the 1/4 finals."

Dan and Nadiya scored 31 points for their Rumba to Desperado by Eagles on Saturday night, a point more than eliminated contestant Tilly Ramsay but four less than Rhys Stephenson, who was in the dance-off for the second consecutive week.

There are now just five celebrities remaining in the competition, with Dan and Rhys joined by former Bake Off winner John Whaite, TV presenter AJ Odudu and EastEnders star Rose Ayling-Ellis.